Breathing Easier, G.M. Not in Rush in Opel Deal

DETROIT — Now that the intense financial pressure on General Motors has eased, the automaker has the luxury of time to consider new alternatives for selling its Opel unit.

The company plans to make a last-ditch effort to negotiate the terms of a sale of Opel, based in Germany, to a buyer backed by the German government. But it will turn to other options if the deal falls through, according to people with knowledge of the automaker’s plans.

A senior G.M. executive, John Smith, will meet in Berlin on Wednesday with German officials and representatives of the potential buyer, the Magna International Corporation, the big Canadian auto supplier that has the inside track to acquire a controlling interest in Opel.

Last week, G.M.’s board rejected Magna’s bid for Opel, the auto company’s huge European operation that has been struggling financially.

The board directed G.M.’s chief executive, Fritz Henderson, to either negotiate a more favorable deal with Magna or pursue other options for Opel — including possibly having G.M. continue to own the division.

The decision to delay the deal by the G.M. board, led by its new chairman, Edward E. Whitacre Jr., was supported by the Obama administration’s auto task force. The government is the majority owner of the car company since it emerged from bankruptcy.

If the Magna deal collapses, G.M. may try to arrange financing for a rival bid for Opel by the Belgian investment firm RHJ International. G.M. could also choose to retain ownership of Opel and try to raise new capital for it, according to those with knowledge of the company’s plans.

“The preferred position for them is to hang on to Opel, if they can make it work financially — that really gives G.M. global scale going forward,” said David E. Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor, Mich. “They’re in a much better bargaining position than they were in the spring.”

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Opel, based in Germany, employs 25,000 people in the country, and its union leaders are protesting G.M.s indecision.Credit
Hannelore Foerster/Bloomberg News

G.M. has declined to comment on the status of the offer by Magna and its partner, the Russian lender Sberbank, to buy 55 percent of Opel. German government leaders, including Chancellor Angela Merkel, and labor leaders support the Magna bid as the best way to preserve Opel’s 25,000 jobs in Germany.

The G.M. board was not willing to accept certain terms of the Magna deal, including a condition under which G.M. might have to subsidize interest payments on Opel’s debts.

A majority of the new G.M. board was named after the company exited bankruptcy on July 10.

The new directors are reluctant to approve a deal with Magna that could have negative fallout for G.M., which is 60 percent owned by the United States government.

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The negotiations have created considerable political drama in Germany, potentially endangering Mrs. Merkel’s chances to win re-election in about a month. She spoke with President Obama by telephone last week, urging him to press G.M. for a quick resolution.

The White House, which has maintained a hands-off approach to the operations of G.M. and Chrysler despite owning stakes in both, said on Monday that it did not intend to become involved in the Opel sale process.

Union workers at Opel have been protesting G.M.’s indecision, with their leader threatening “spectacular measures” to force the company into settling the matter. The angry workers reportedly are rescinding a deal to give up about $100 million in vacation pay.

“We have been calm so far, listened diligently and made comments, but that is over now,” the Opel labor leader Klaus Franz was quoted as saying on German radio on Monday.

Opel has been G.M.’s source for some of its more popular small and midsize cars in recent years, including the Chevrolet Malibu sedan and several Saturn models.

A sale could allow Magna or one of its partners to build similar vehicles easily and become a strong rival to G.M. in some countries.

“The fear is that Magna wants to become their competitor,” Mr. Cole said.

A version of this article appears in print on , on Page B1 of the New York edition with the headline: Breathing Easier, G.M. Not in Rush In Opel Deal. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe